Sinner in seventh heaven with dominant Shanghai final win vs. Djokovic

Jannik Sinner produced a commanding display against Novak Djokovic to lift his Tour-leading seventh title of 2024 on Sunday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

The Italian did not blink in a 7-6(4), 6-3 triumph, becoming the first man to win more than six titles in a calendar year since Andy Murray won nine in 2016. Sinner clinched a high-octane first set by improving to 24-8 in tie-breaks for the year, before surging to an ultimately unassailable 4-1 lead in the early stages of the second set.

“It was a very tough match, obviously, playing against Novak is one of the toughest challenges we have,” said Sinner, who levelled the pair’s Lexus ATP Head series at 4-4. “I’m very happy with how I handled the situation. He was serving great the first set, I couldn’t find a way to break him. I played a really good tie-break which gave me confidence to start off well in the second set.

“It’s tough to tell you a secret about [Djokovic] because he doesn’t have any weaknesses. You have to try and use the small chances that he gives you, but there are not many during the match. He is a legend of our sport, he’s very tough to play against, so I am very happy.”

Simply too good ?

The moment @janniksin defeated the 4-time champion, Djokovic, for the Shanghai title ?@SH_RolexMasters | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/NMYr3wIHim

Djokovic, who was bidding to become the third man to win 100 tour-level titles (Connors, Federer), was denied by the imperious serving of Sinner. The 23-year-old won 81 per cent (21/26) of points behind his first delivery in an absorbing first set, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Sinner, who clinched ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours on Saturday with his semi-final win over Tomas Machac, improved to 8-2 vs. Top-5 players on hard courts this season. His only two defeats came in Indian Wells and Beijing against his great rival Carlos Alcaraz, who watched Sunday's final in Shanghai from the stands alongside his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Prior to Sunday’s contest, Djokovic held a perfect 4-0 record in Shanghai finals, with his sole win from behind coming in 2012 against Murray. However, the 37-year-old was unable to spark a comeback against Sinner, who stood firm in the second set.

"I've had lots of success at Chinese tournaments in the past and hadn't played in China for five years, so I've missed it and I'm really glad that I came this year," said Djokovic at the trophy ceremony. "I think I played some really good tennis, but congratulations to Jannik. He was just too good today. Too strong, too fast, well done. You're having an incredible year. You deserve this."

Despite experiencing troubles with his left knee in his quarter-final and semi-final clashes, Djokovic moved well throughout the match. He was particularly dialled in during the opening set, when he dropped just three points behind his second serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats. However, the gruelling nature of the battle with Sinner gradually appeared to take its toll on the World No. 4, whose serve was dismantled in the fourth game of the second set.

The Champ @ROLEXMCMASTERS ??

? to @janniksin's winning run has been his consistently high Forehand #ShotQuality ?#ShotQuality is calculated in real-time by analysing each shot's speed, spin, depth, width, and the impact it has on the opponent#TennisInsights | @atptour |… pic.twitter.com/WQOXzLyrdh

From there, Sinner found an extra gear to cruise to a straight-sets victory, his third consecutive tour-level win over Djokovic. With the one-hour and 37-minute triumph, Sinner recorded his personal best 65th win in a season.

Sinner, the youngest champion in Shanghai tournament history, exuded confidence on serve throughout the match. His serving prowess was underpinned by a gutsy hold from 0/30 in the tenth game when the pendulum appeared to be swinging in Djokovic’s favour.

“I’m very happy with my performance throughout this whole tournament, it’s obviously a very special one," added Sinner, who became the first player to win three ATP Masters 1000 titles in one season since Rafael Nadal in 2018.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]